The evidence of Hurricane Ivan still is apparent on some local trails, but the damage isn't severe enough to discourage hikers and bikers.
Several trails in the region were ravaged when streams and creeks overflowed last September, washing out paths and collapsing hillsides.
But officials for three local trails said damage has been repaired well enough to keep the walkways and bike paths open.
The Butler-Freeport Community Trail isn't as well-groomed as it was six months ago, but rails-to-trails officials organizing a summer bike tour said it still is one of nicer trails they'll use, according to trail council President Ron Bennett.
The 16-mile community trail suffered an estimated $400,000 in damage when swollen Buffalo Creek and its tributaries flowed over the path and washed out several portions.
The damage was particularly frustrating because it occurred just as workers were finishing the southern quarter of the trail.
Officials patched the trail to make it passable, but they still are waiting on funding from the federal and state emergency management agencies to complete repairs.
"I wish that big check would have come by now," said Freeport Council President Jim Seagriff.
Freeport oversees a 3.5-mile section of the trail starting in Laneville. The trail continues through Buffalo, Winfield and Jefferson townships toward its end in Butler.
Seagriff said the borough received about $17,000 from FEMA as reimbursement for police overtime and debris removal costs, but he hasn't received the larger check for trail repairs.
Freeport's trail damage originally was estimated at about $100,000, but Seagriff said FEMA lessened the amount slightly.
Likewise, the damage on the rest of the trail was estimated at more than $300,000, according to Bennett. But he said FEMA reduced to estimate by about two-thirds.
Bennett said the damage estimate included the cost to replace large stones that supported the hillsides; FEMA instead recommended they use dirt and smaller filler, which costs less but would be more easily washed away in future flooding.
Meanwhile, signs at the trailheads warn users of the damage.
"It's a little rough, but it's open," Bennett said.
Neither Seagriff nor Bennett were certain when the government money would be available.
Other trails fared better
Other trails in the area weren't as seriously damaged.
The Armstrong Trail, a 52-mile primitive path between Schenley in Gilpin Township and Upper Hillville in Clarion County, suffered some plugged culverts and drainage problems, according to Ron Steffey, development director for the Allegheny Valley Land Trust.
Most of the damage occurred on undeveloped areas of the trail, Steffey said.
The 9-mile paved portion between Ford City and Kittanning wasn't affected.
John Linkes, director of the Roaring Run Watershed Association, said the majority of the Kiski River trail was largely unscathed from the flooding.
Like the Butler-Freeport Community Trail, the Roaring Run trail has a new portion that just was being completed when the hurricane's remnants blew through. Linkes said Roaring Run crosses the 1.5-mile spur, called the Rock Furnace Trail, and the creek bed was widened by the flooding.
The group is attempting to raise enough money to build a bridge over the creek.
But the trail is open, the flowers are blooming and hikers and bikers already are traversing the path.
"We're good to go," Linkes said. "I urge everybody to go take a hike."
Liz Hayes can be reached at lhayes@tribweb.com.
Additional Information:
Biking the trail
The Pennsylvania Greenway Sojourn is a six-day bike tour sponsored by the federal Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. It will start this year in Erie on July 16 and end on July 22 on the Butler-Freeport Community Trail in Cabot, Winfield.Ron Bennett, trail council president, said riders will come down the Armstrong Trail to Schenley in Gilpin, take a boat across the Allegheny River, then ride north on the Butler-Freeport trail to Cabot.
Bicyclists ride about 35 miles per day and camp overnight. Many but not all meals are provided.
For information, visit www.railtrails.org/sojourn_2005.
On the Web
Butler-Freeport Community Trail, www.butlerfreeporttrail.org
Roaring Run Watershed Association, www.roaringrun.org
